Saratoga: Delgados point impressive Ferocious to Hopeful

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Hip 494, a dark bay Flatter colt out of the Midnight Lute mare Napier, drew the attention of every buyer with deep pockets when he breezed one furlong in a crackling 9 4/5 seconds and galloped out powerfully ahead of the March sale for 2-year-olds in training conducted by Ocala Breeders’ Sales.

Bloodstock agent Ramiro Restrepo was among those riveted by that eighth of a mile. He was equally impressed by what occurred afterward. When buyer after buyer asked for the horse to be led out of his stall in order to inspect him, the youngster took everything in stride in an atmosphere that would cause many a juvenile to become unglued.

“When you see a horse thriving in those environments mentally,” Restrepo recalled, “you start thinking to yourself, ‘Well, he could maybe handle the big stage.’ ”

Restrepo was working closely with Gustavo Delgado Jr., just as he did when they purchased Mage, last year’s Kentucky Derby winner. When Jose Aguirre of JR Ranch asked them to identify the best horse in the OBS sale this past March, they quickly identified hip 494.

They were not alone in their high opinion of the colt, and the bidding escalated beyond what they anticipated. Aguirre, on the phone with Restrepo, was not deterred.

“Don’t stop,” Aguirre instructed him. “Just get him.”

It took $1.3 million to bring home the colt. Early returns on that massive investment are encouraging.

The colt that Restrepo would name Ferocious produced one of the most striking performances of the Saratoga meet, overcoming a slow start from the rail to dominate his six-furlong debut Aug. 3 by 7 3/4 lengths.

It was a nerve-wracking but ultimately gratifying afternoon for owners Aguirre, Restrepo, the Delgados' OGMA Investments and High Step Racing.

“The horse makes you feel you did the right thing, going to that price for him,” said Delgado, who assists his father in overseeing an ambitious operation based at Gulfstream Park. “It doesn’t always work like that, but so far I feel we’re in pretty good shape.”

Ferocious earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form for his ultra-impressive bow. A poor start from the rail would have been ruinous for many debuting juveniles. Under urging from Javier Castellano, he recovered within a few strides. When the serious running began, he dusted eight opponents on a muddy, sealed track. He had shown an affinity for wet tracks in his training.

Still, the first race was so strong and he has done so well since that the connections intend to ask him to step onto a much bigger stage by entering him in the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes. The seven-furlong contest, which always draws a salty field, will be run when the 40-day meet concludes on Labor Day.

“He’s here. He’s healthy. He’s happy. So it makes sense,” Delgado said.

Ferocious has worked twice ahead of the Hopeful and was not asked to break much of a sweat in either move at Saratoga. He covered four furlongs in 50.88 seconds on Aug. 18 before stepping up to five furlongs in 1:02.63 six days later.

Delgado said of the decision to point toward the Hopeful, “The way he won and there’s a Grade 1 race coming up where he looks like one of the main contenders, when you see those signs in your favor, you have to take it.”

Ferocious has moved forward since he entered the barn. “We always thought we had a good horse,” Delgado said. “He gives you a good feeling he belongs at the stakes level. The numbers also suggest that.”

The Hopeful will provide a better gauge of his ability as one of the most significant races on the calendar for 2-year-olds. “We don’t know how good he is. No one can tell,” Delgado acknowledged. “So far, all the nice signs are there for sure.”

Although the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is on their radar, Delgado is not about to look that far ahead.

“One race at a time,” he said. “His soundness is most important.”